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Practioneer of the brown arts
Practioneer of the brown arts by townsangst February 20, 2009
Related Words
Proactionary
A word used to describe the principle of taking action before problems become insurmountable or opportunities are lost, which standing outside the context of that principle, does not exist in any dictionary except this one.
Proactionary by w.e.i.r.d.o. November 14, 2022
Practing
A term used for Flash Mobbing Dance "practicing". As flash mobs are very secret in planning, using "practicing" may be too risky to blow the cover. Hence the creation and use of the word practing
Practing by the man 2010 September 14, 2010
Nuclear Proaction
1) An extreme “over pre-action” to an event occurring in the future.
2) Extraordinarily proactive measures taken in spite of detailed processes already in place to address the situation in question.
Communications are typically verbose, meticulously detailed, and far exceed the authority of the originator. Commonly encountered via email, examples often contain combinations of “wall o’ words”, check-lists, outlines, attachments, or screen shots and are often sent to multiple recipients using separate email chains in a shotgun effect. Whether intended or not, nuclear proactions are demeaning to their recipients because they are generally unnecessary and infer ineptitude on the part of the recipient.
2) Extraordinarily proactive measures taken in spite of detailed processes already in place to address the situation in question.
Communications are typically verbose, meticulously detailed, and far exceed the authority of the originator. Commonly encountered via email, examples often contain combinations of “wall o’ words”, check-lists, outlines, attachments, or screen shots and are often sent to multiple recipients using separate email chains in a shotgun effect. Whether intended or not, nuclear proactions are demeaning to their recipients because they are generally unnecessary and infer ineptitude on the part of the recipient.
Proactor discovers a problem impacting a tiny percentage of the company’s customer base. Following procedures, he notifies his direct supervisor in a 500-word paragraph explaining the problem. Without delay, Proactor proceeds to forward the communication (crafted for his supervisor) to co-workers including a comprehensive check list they must follow in order to identify examples of the issue for collection.
A separate communication goes to all Field, Network, and Database engineering teams. This note has a subject “FYI” with text in the body of “Please Assist” and 14 screen shots detailing the sole example collected (the 15th screen shot was left off to prevent the message from being too large for the company’s servers to process). Attached to this Engineering communication are the two prior emails Proactor sent. This final concoction gets forwarded to a manager with the company VP blind carbon copied.
Satisfied with his Nuclear Proaction, Proactor puts up his out of office message and leaves for the day.
A separate communication goes to all Field, Network, and Database engineering teams. This note has a subject “FYI” with text in the body of “Please Assist” and 14 screen shots detailing the sole example collected (the 15th screen shot was left off to prevent the message from being too large for the company’s servers to process). Attached to this Engineering communication are the two prior emails Proactor sent. This final concoction gets forwarded to a manager with the company VP blind carbon copied.
Satisfied with his Nuclear Proaction, Proactor puts up his out of office message and leaves for the day.
Nuclear Proaction by Im_Mature March 23, 2011
More from Urban Dictionary
Frothability
The measure of an emotional and over zealous consumer in an upwardly charging market, also known as a bull market. It's characterized by rising asset prices, increased investor confidence, and favorable growth in the markets, bro.
The frothability was evident as over-zealous consumers eagerly engaged in bidding wars, driving property prices to unsustainable levels reminiscent of previous speculative bubbles.
Frothability by cptn.kagaroo1 January 26, 2024
Word of the Day on November 12, 2026
Soul digger
A man who dates women with the sole purpose of exploiting their time, energy, and labor while he sucks the joy and happiness from their lives.
"That guy's a soul digger. He'll expect you to work full time, but you'll be doing all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping, and childcare while he plays video games or watches TV."
Soul digger by anonymous November 11, 2026
Word of the Day on November 11, 2026
pod person
A person pretending to be something they aren't, or an impostor. This is inferred because of the old alien movies where alien pods appear on earth and the "pod people" dispose of the humans and slowly reproduce the bodies, pretending to be humans.
The pod person was pretending to be my father, but I knew that he was an alien when he acted differently than my father ever would have.
pod person by Christopher M. May 9, 2005
Word of the Day on November 10, 2026
dead drop
A dead drop is a location used to secretly pass items between two people, without requiring them to meet.
Spies have been known to use dead drops, using various techniques to hide the items and to signal that the drop has been made. Drug dealers use this as well.
A common place is to duct tape the item to the underside of a toilet cover in a public restroom.
A signal is sometimes used as well to indicate there is something to pickup, like a pile of stones in a certain formation. After checking the drop the signal is removed.
Spies have been known to use dead drops, using various techniques to hide the items and to signal that the drop has been made. Drug dealers use this as well.
A common place is to duct tape the item to the underside of a toilet cover in a public restroom.
A signal is sometimes used as well to indicate there is something to pickup, like a pile of stones in a certain formation. After checking the drop the signal is removed.
"The dead drop is the restroom toilet at the Gulf station at the corner of Commercial Ave. and Georges Rd."
dead drop by rubberroom July 23, 2008
Word of the Day on November 9, 2026
No Surprises Wedding
A "No Surprises Wedding," or NSW, is a wedding invitation designation that tells attendees that there can be no unplanned announcements, engagements, events or speeches at the wedding - all actions must be pre-approved by the couple. Anyone who performs an unapproved "surprise" will be asked to leave the wedding early.
This designation comes from Reddit, where so many stories of bad wedding behavior indicated a need to communicate expectations for the wedding behavior of attendees.
This designation comes from Reddit, where so many stories of bad wedding behavior indicated a need to communicate expectations for the wedding behavior of attendees.
You are cordially invited to the nuptials of Brian and Tom on October 31 at noon.
Please note that this wedding is child-free (under 10) and a No Surprises Wedding (NSW). Reach out to wedding planner Sami Smith to request approvals or exceptions; please note that exceptions will be rare. Limited child care for under-10s will be available. All approvals will be noted and included in planning. Unapproved, or surprise exceptions, will result in guests being asked to leave.
Please note that this wedding is child-free (under 10) and a No Surprises Wedding (NSW). Reach out to wedding planner Sami Smith to request approvals or exceptions; please note that exceptions will be rare. Limited child care for under-10s will be available. All approvals will be noted and included in planning. Unapproved, or surprise exceptions, will result in guests being asked to leave.
No Surprises Wedding by dbdefenestrate August 27, 2023
Word of the Day on November 8, 2026
ulzzang
Ulzzang true definition is "best & "face" = best face in korean. They are basically people with above average looks, sometimes with the use of photoshop and haduri who post their pics online, some becoming internet celebrities.
ulzzang by `r i k kit t y February 26, 2008
Word of the Day on November 7, 2026